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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070669">The Bus Scene</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kg1507/pseuds/kg1507'>kg1507</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Based on a Tumblr Post, F/F, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor-centric, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Missing Scene, One Shot, Other, POV Kara Danvers, POV Lena Luthor, SuperCorp, Supergirl (TV 2015) Season 5, THEY ROBBED US</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:28:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,362</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kg1507/pseuds/kg1507</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being forced to take public transportation with your best friend, who you're currently fighting/angry/maybe a little in love with(?) is... awkward, to say the least.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers &amp; Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>272</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Bus Scene</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lena has never ridden on a bus before, that much is obvious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A year ago Kara would have giggled at the sight of Lena death-gripping the chrome-colored pole in the center of the aisle, her fists clenched so tightly that her neatly manicured fingers have turned white. She would have teased her for the ridiculous pose she’s chosen to utilize for optimum stability: legs slightly bent at the knee, feet flat on the floor, every muscle stiffened as she fights to keep a semblance of balance while they hit pothole after jarring pothole. Kara would have made jokes about how the only thing capable of thwarting the brilliant mind of Lena Luthor was the mechanics of a National City bus route. She would have asked, all-too innocently as she smothered a laugh, if Lena would like to make this a recurring thing that they did instead of coffee and lunch dates, since she seemed to be enjoying herself </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A year ago, Lena might have narrowed her eyes and smirked. She might’ve gone along with the teasing and replied that no, the Luthors never rode in vehicles that didn’t already come with a personal driver, to which Kara might’ve said, “Well, buses </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> come with drivers and your tax dollars help pay for transportation in the city so you could </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>call that "personal," so… I guess you don’t have a valid excuse, huh?” And maybe they would’ve stared each other down until they burst into a laughing fit that made half the bus roll their eyes and the other half smile in secret at the two women who were obviously close and dear to each other’s hearts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A year ago, under better circumstances and in a world where they had made less mistakes, maybe these things would’ve happened - but it’s not a year ago. It’s now, and Leviathan is looking for her and Lex is involved and Kara can’t use her powers and she needs a Kryptonite suit, a suit that only Lena can build for her in the lab that’s oh so </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>conveniently located on the other side of the city - so they’re taking the bus, and Kara has never been more uncomfortable in her entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>life.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The bus is packed with people of all sorts; businessmen and women who missed the easier, smoother ride of the subway but still have enough practiced balance not to need to clutch at the hand-holds above them, mothers and fathers placating their toddlers with varying degrees of success, a couple of twenty-somethings with backpacks and bleary-eyed expressions that can either be explained by late-night partying or last-minute studying as they head to class, several tourists, and even a few aliens towards the back of the bus who can only be identified as such by the six-foot tails that snake around an entire bench of seats. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The vehicle had already been heavily occupied when Kara and Lena boarded, with no seats available and no one willing to give theirs up. Even the standing room was limited, but people shuffled around to allow the two women access to a single pole; Lena looked at it and then at Kara with a question in her eyes, asking permission to be allowed in her space. Kara responded with a tiny nod and loosely wrapped her right hand around the bottom of the pole while Lena took the top half with both hands, and the awkward thirty-minute ride began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara tries not to think about how close they’re standing, how easy it would be to turn and say the three little words that would start them on the path to healing, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I forgive you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But then she remembers the weeks of lies, the betrayal of stealing Myriad, the kryptonite coursing through her veins - and the hypocrisy of her own anger, which somehow makes Kara feel worse than anything Lena has done to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m angry at you, but I'm even more angry at me because I’m angry at you, and I don’t know what to do or what to say except that I miss you…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And I wish I could’ve flown us to your lab because I hate the stupid bus and more than anything, I wish we could laugh about that.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Lena has never ridden on a bus before, and now she knows why. It sucks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She understands the purpose of the system - it’s inexpensive, convenient for those with no personal vehicles, and easy to understand. Lena knows it’s a perfectly acceptable way to travel no matter how high up the proverbial ladder you were born to, and she would never go so far as to say that she was above anyone who used it as their main source of transportation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, oh my </span>
  <em>
    <span>God</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she hates it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For one thing, it’s a lot bumpier than she’d expected. It feels like they hit a pothole every twenty feet, and she has half a mind to make a sizable donation towards the city’s roadway construction budget because it is obviously sorely lacking in funds. For another, Lena is fairly certain that their driver is unaware that a speed bump’s primary function is to </span>
  <em>
    <span>slow down</span>
  </em>
  <span> the vehicle in question - not to transform the bus into a wannabe stunt car. Her hands are starting to cramp from clutching the security bar  and she knows she looks ridiculous squatting there like a football player bracing themselves for the hike. Thank God she wore pants today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sheer number of people a bus could hold had exceeded her expectations as well. It seemed like with every stop the bus made more people got on than got off, which didn’t add up to the calculations she made in her head concerning the volume of the space and the mass of those who occupied it - they had to have at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> hit the weight limit by now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena wishes she could talk to Kara and ask questions: Were buses always this crowded? Surely all this fuel exhaust isn’t good for the quality of the air? Is it possible to file a complaint against Richard Petty up there? But she can’t - the tension between them is so thick, and Lena doesn’t know how to break it without potentially setting Kara off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She'd told Lena this morning that she didn’t want to talk about the rift between them, that they needed to focus on Lex and Leviathan. Lena knows she should be thinking about the anti-kryptonite suit she has to build in record time, but all she wants to do is try to atone for her mistakes. She would go back in time and take them all back if she could - she would go back to the moment her brother lay bleeding on the floor, planting those seeds of doubt in her mind. She would take her own face in her hands, wipe away her tears, and tell her past self, “Do not listen to him. Hear her well when she tells you why, and believe with your whole heart that truer words have never been spoken.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena tries not to think about how close they are, and yet so far away. There’s no calculation she can’t solve, no solution that eludes her except for this one: how to fix what’s been broken between them. Lena can pick up the pieces on her side, but they’re useless unless Kara meets her halfway - and from the way things are going, Lena wonders if she’ll ever be willing to do so.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You’re angry with me, and I’m angry at me, and I’m still a little angry at you too, but I understand now and I want to make things right. I don’t want to lose you… I don’t want to have already lost you…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And I would give anything to be able to laugh with you about how absurd I must look right now, clinging to this pole on this stupid bus.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Twenty minutes into the ride the bus makes a stop that takes longer than usual, and Lena thankfully takes the opportunity to rub some feeling back into her hands, which have adapted into a claw-like shape. She rises from her hunched position and sighs as the muscles of her legs stretch gloriously, glancing around to see if she can discover what the situation is. Still no empty seats available, but surely someone will vacate one soon? She hasn’t looked directly at Kara once the entire time, but can feel an almost palpable energy emanating from her body that radiates discomfort, and Lena knows Kara must hate standing so close to her like this, after everything she’s done. Maybe a little distance will help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena hears a slight creak and sees Kara’s fingers gripping the bar below, bending the metal as easily as if it were an empty soda can. Lena tries her best to block the scene with her body from any wandering eyes behind them, and touches Kara with hesitant fingertips, barely making contact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kara,” Lena mutters. “The bar…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara seems to snap out of whatever trance she was in and quickly jerks her hand away; her breath is harsh but she seems to come back to herself fairly quickly and her eyes refocus. She clears her throat. “Sorry. Panic attack.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s brow furrows in surprise at this new piece of information. It seems there are still some things she doesn’t know about her (hopefully still) best friend. She tries not to feel relieved that the negative energy she’d felt from Kara hadn’t been about her - tries, and fails.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I didn’t know.” Lena says quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara leans a little closer, resting her forehead against the cool metal and closes her eyes. “I don’t like close spaces. Being crowded. Feeling...trapped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena has to bite her tongue to keep from pressing her, even though she desperately wants to know what caused this claustrophobia, when, and why. She pushes her questions down and nods towards the back of the bus, where a few people have finally let off. “I think I see an empty seat. I could go over there, if you want - give you some space-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Kara replies quickly and opens her eyes, reaches for Lena and drops her hand a millisecond too late for the gesture to go unnoticed by the human eye. Lena’s heart thuds and hope wells up within her before she can reign it in and keep it from showing on her face. Then Kara glances away and pops the dent in the bar back into place with one quick squeeze of her fingers. She clears her throat again, a little more forcefully this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, no, it wouldn’t matter - someone else would just take your spot anyway. Besides, it looks like we’re gonna start moving now. I’m fine.” She says this curtly, and the tiny ember of warmth in Lena’s chest fades back into the blackness. She doesn’t see the grimace of regret in Kara’s turned face, nor the reflection of that guilt in the grimy plexiglass window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bus suddenly lurches forward with no warning and Lena’s fingers slip from the bar, grasping at nothing but empty space as she falls backwards. Kara reacts without thinking, reaches forward and gently wraps her hand around Lena’s left forearm with a practiced fluidity that goes beyond human reflexes. She pulls Lena back into an upright position, her free hand coming to rest behind Lena’s right shoulder blade in an effort to keep her steady as the bus turns a sharp corner. The whole scene has taken place in less than a second, and the bus’s occupants are focused on the good-natured alien couple in the back who are letting several small children climb on their tails like a jungle gym. No one is looking at Kara and Lena, who are standing much too close to each other and feeling very much like the Earth has stopped rotating in its orbit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena can feel the heat of Kara’s fingers through her coat, keeping her firmly grounded on the turbulent surface without using a hint of the strength she knows those muscles are capable of. She can’t help but marvel at the gentle touch that feels almost intimate, even though her rational brain insists that this is how Kara </span>
  <em>
    <span>has </span>
  </em>
  <span>to handle a human in order not to break them. There’s nothing special about this moment - at least, not for Kara. She must perform these little saves dozens of times a day. Lena wonders if those people know how lucky they are.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks…” Lena says, her voice low and full of emotion. She doesn’t know how her hand ended up on Kara’s collarbone, but it’s there and she really doesn’t want to move it because this is the most contact they’ve had in months and she’s touch-starved from her own self-imposed isolation. God, she misses Kara’s hugs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara is the first to break away, of course, but she hesitates before dropping her hands from their anchor points on Lena's body. She nods her head in acknowledgement, unable to dislodge the lump in her throat and thrown by the way her body is thrumming with electricity. Was that always there, or is she just tense from the aftereffects of her panic attack? Kara swallows heavily and shoves those thoughts away - no time for that. Besides, she’s still angry and not ready to talk about it - or </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>- not yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena grabs the pole just in time before the bus comes to another lurching stop, and she recognizes the building in front of them. “We’re here.” It’s an unnecessary statement, but Lena doesn’t know what else to say. They start to edge their way to the bus’s double doors, squeezing past people with murmured apologies and side-steps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally - sweet, sweet air. Lena exits the bus with Kara close behind, who sighs with relief. Lena gestures for her to follow, her hand just barely missing Kara's. Neither of them notice; they're all business now, with a mission that needs their undivided attention. Still, one thought lingers on both of their minds as they push through the doors of the building and head towards Lena's lab:</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe the bus isn't </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>that</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> bad...</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really tried to work "I flew here on a bus" somewhere in this, but couldn't make it fit. I am also disappointed.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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